North Plainfield, Somerset County is planning to request its own ZIP code from the U.S. Postal Service. Above is a November 2011 photo of a Postal Service sign in Virginia.Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

NORTH PLAINFIELD — It’s the 10th anniversary of a rejection letter, but still one North Plainfield officials can’t wait to celebrate.

Nearly a decade since their previous request was denied, borough officials are preparing to make another pitch to the U.S. Postal Service about getting a ZIP code dedicated to the Somerset County municipality. The borough now shares three ZIP codes with Plainfield in Union County.

“I’ve received it myself on a couple of occasions. It’s very common…and you have to prove that you’re not a Union County resident,” said North Plainfield Borough Clerk Richard Phoenix. “I don’t need another jury summons from a county that doesn’t apply to me.”

When North Plainfield’s request for its own ZIP code was denied in a Sept. 27, 2004 letter from the Postal Service, the borough had to wait 10 years before reapplying, Postal Service spokesman George Flood said. The waiting period helps “to ensure stability in the ZIP Code network, facility planning and postal operations,” Flood said in an email.

After the 10th anniversary on Sept. 27, 2014, the borough is expected to make another attempt at getting its own postal identity, Mayor Michael Giordano Jr. said.

“Because we have to keep trying,” said Giordano, when asked why the borough was reviving the effort. “Because we want our own ZIP code.”

In the 2004 letter to then-Mayor Janice Allen, the Postal Service said “a change in ZIP Codes for North Plainfield would not improve service or realize significant operational savings.

“As such, the requested change does not meet the criteria to authorize a 5-Digit ZIP Code at this time and must be denied,” the letter states.

The review process for a ZIP code change involves various issues, including the number of deliveries, population and the complaints made to the Postal Service, according to Flood. North Plainfield residents and business owners with mail delivery problems should call (732) 819-3260, Flood said.

“We are committed to providing our customers with the best service possible,” Flood said.

Mail delivery is one of the main issues driving the push for a ZIP code adjustment in North Plainfield.

Since some streets run through both North Plainfield and Plainfield, mail for borough addresses is frequently delivered to city locations, and mail for Plainfield addresses is delivered in the borough, officials said.

Homeowners in both municipalities must then place that mail in the mailbox or drop it off at the post office to make sure the mail is delivered to the proper location, said North Plainfield Business Administrator David Hollod.

But Hollod noted how “if it’s one bill that goes unpaid, that can be a pretty serious matter” for someone who doesn’t receive the bill to pay it on time.

On Clinton Avenue in North Plainfield, mail delivery has been a problem for St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church and a school on its property called the Giving Nest Preschool & Kindergarten. Both entities have the same street address as a private residence in Plainfield.

The church and the residence have each received mail meant for the other location, said Anita Maier, a secretary and pastoral assistant at St. Luke’s.

At the school, tuition payments have been “lost in the mail,” said Assistant Director Sue Chmielewski. Another problem occurs when people are visiting the school and their GPS device directs them to the Plainfield address, Chmielewski said.

When visitors are coming to tour the school, “the last thing you want is for them to be aggravated by having to drive around,” Chmielewski said. “I don’t want to see people inconvenienced.”